Hosni Mubarak to stand trial over protester deaths

Lucky I don't have much of a neck, because I suspect a few people would like to put a noose around it.

Former Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak and his two sons, Alaa and Gamal are to stand trial over the deaths of anti-government protesters during the January/February revolution.

The three men have been charged with “premeditated murder of some participants in the peaceful protests of the 25 January revolution,” the Egyptian state news agency reported the prosecutor general as saying.

More than 800 people died in the weeks leading up to Mubarak’s departure. Hosni and sons (a bit of a family business that) are accused of planning the killing of protesters in the revolution that began on 25 January. The aim, according to the accusation was to kill some and to intimidate others.

Currently Mr Mubarak is being detained in hospital back at the Red Sea resort of Sharm el-Sheikh where he fled after his resignation.

Alaa and Gamal, are being held at the Tora prison in Cairo where Mr Mubarak was for a time. They will also face fraud charges.

The charges come after renewed calls for protests on Friday to demand the trial of the Mubarak family as well as the lifting of emergency law.

The people have shown that they are not shy about getting back out on the streets if they sense the pace of reforms is starting to lag. The interim military rulers will be nervous about further protests escalating into concerted opposition to their current hold on power.

Hosni Mubarak is also accused of accepting gifts, including a palace and four villas at the resort of Sharm el-Sheikh. He is also accused of conspiring with businessman Hussein Salem, who has also been charged, to sell gas cheaply to Israel and thus defraud the Egyptian government of many millions of dollars.

The authorities are keen to have Mr Mubarak housed back at the more secure Tora Prison in Cairo. There are reports that they have sent a medical team to Sharm el-Sheikh hospital to assess his ability to travel.
Frozen accounts

Hosni’s wife Suzanne Mubarak was in the news last week herself with her own heart scare. She has now been released from detension, but only after handing over a luxury villa and $3 million from Cairo bank accounts to the authorities.

This has sparked outrage from many reformers who fear that the Mubarak’s might buy their way to freedom with money the originally looted form the Egyptian people in the first place.

Newswarped thinks that Hosni Mubarak is pretty much a dead man walking. His power is gone and he is the perfect sacrificial lamb to offer up to a people who want to see tangible evidence that the old regime is gone and new freedoms are on their way.

Those currently in charge are going to be doing their best to keep the spotlight on the Mubarak’s and their wealth to distract attention from the supporting cast that kept Mubarak in power for 30 years.